It is known that various materials may alleviate oral malodor, which impart undesirable tastes to orally consumed products. These materials include, for example, antibacterial agents, natural extracts with or without an enzyme component, antioxidants, chelating agents, and fragrance and flavor materials. Other substances which are known to control oral malodor include quaternary ammonium, triclosan, baking soda, cetylpyridinium chloride, cyclohexidine, zinc salts, stannous salts, antibacterial flavor materials, essential oils, and natural extracts. These materials can provide an oral malodor suppression effect in various ways when applied to the oral cavity, e.g., by preventing malodor generation, by chemically reacting with malodor materials, or by simply masking the malodor.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2008/0311054 A1 describes oral malodor counteracting compositions using unsaturated alkanoic acid esters, which purportedly inhibit the enzyme that produces oral bacteria. Similarly, U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2008/0247966A1 relates to an oral malodor counteracting composition that is based on bacteria enzyme inhibition.
International Published Application No. WO 2007/071085 describes oral malodor counteracting compositions that include esterified fumarates, which purportedly chemically bind to the malodor molecules. Many materials used in the prior art, however, can cause unpleasant effects like astringency, or a metallic taste; or are unstable in the orally consumed product. Also compositions that merely mask malodor only reduce malodor perception; they do not eliminate the malodor, which persists in the oral cavity. Therefore, there remains a need for improved compositions that can reduce malodor materials in orally consumed products.